SEVERAL Groningen players have suggested their progression into the Europa League third qualifying round is a formality after last week's 0-0 draw at Pittodrie.

GRONINGEN may already believe a Europa League win over Aberdeen tonight is a given.

But Dons boss Derek McInnes insists his side are ready to punish the Dutch for any hint of the disrespect which followed last week’s goalless draw at Pittodrie.

Several players from the Dutch club have already taken their progress into the third qualifying round of the competition as a formality.

After last week’s first leg at Pittodrie cocky winger Filip Kostic said: “We go home happy, we have done 80 per cent of what we need to go through.”

That boast was followed by his skipper Maikel Kieftenbeld, who said: “I only see Groningen winning in Holland.”

Those remarks have fired up a Dons side looking to book a place against Real Sociedad in the next round.

And McInnes insists there will only be one outcome if gobby Groningen stars write off his side.

He said: “I have heard comments from a few Groningen players that they feel as though they are 80 per cent there.

“If that’s what they think then fine but from our point of view the tie is finely poised.

“I don’t believe the opposition will be taking us lightly.

“But if they do then they will be out of the tournament.

“There is mutual respect and you won’t get any of my players dismissing Groningen as they are a good side.

“We are confident in our own abilities to take part in the game and get the right result and we feel as though we can.”

McInnes has every reason to believe the Dons can earn a result on their travels having stacked up a record of winning at every Premiership ground last season with the exception of Tynecastle.

It’s that statistic as well as an inner belief that they are capable of progressing from the tie which has the Pittodrie boss feeling positive.

He said: “It’s very finely poised in terms of the scoreline. It’s only half-time in the tie and while 0-0 isn’t perfect, it’s not a bad result either. It was very important not to concede at home. While the scoreline was 0-0 there were a lot of aspects of the performance we were satisfied with.

“Both teams will feel they can win the tie. I can only second guess them but I would expect they will feel confident being at home.

“Equally, we are confident away from home. We won at every league ground last season bar one and have had a lot of big results as an away team.”

McInnes also insists the prospect of a third-round clash with Real Sociedad is another incentive for his side to win tonight.

He said: “Any motivation to progress is good but it’s there for both teams. We want to do as well as we can in the competition.

“The prospect of playing in the next round is exciting enough and even more so for the tie which is waiting for the winner.

“But we need to concentrate on the job in hand, we have complete focus on this game and we will need a big performance if we are to progress.

“We can create chances and score. And if we score it will obviously be a huge advantage for us and a disadvantage for Groningen.

“A lot of our better results came away from Aberdeen and we have a confidence within the team, whether it’s home or away, domestically or in Europe, that we can win games.”

On-form Dons ace Peter Pawlett tormented the Dutch in the first leg and McInnes believes he could be a key man again.

He said: “Peter was a big player for us last season and scored eight goals but we feel he can get more. He’s one of a few players who can cause problems for the opposition.”

Dutch will go through emotions

GRONINGEN boss Erwin van de Looi last night admitted his side’s Europa League clash with Aberdeen will be awash with emotional heartache.

Holland endured a day of mourning yesterday in memory of the 193 Dutch citizens who perished on-board flight MH17 in the atrocity which saw a missile bring down the plane over Ukrainian airspace.

Van de Looi insists his side will need to put the horror to one side after three people from Groningen died, as well as a family from his home town of Roden.

He said: “It is emotional because we all know someone who was involved but there is a game of football to be played.

“There has been a day of mourning and it will be tough. There were three people from Groningen and a family from my home town although I didn’t really know them.

“It is a tragedy but we have been working hard for the last year to get here. We have to put the emotion to one side.”